Drawer construction



DRAWER CONSTRUCTION Filed Feb. 2, 1950 4 Sheets-Sheet l l F I f I 1 u 17 j wi 1 0. Q6 36 30 I 26 i 1 gvwwvkw 1953 c. w. STRAUBEL 2,648,585

DRAWER CONSTRUCTION Filed Feb. 2, 1950 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 1953 c. w.STRAUBEL 2,648,585

DRAWER CONSTRUCTION Filed Feb. 2, 1950 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 15 49 14 41 1%:5i w 52, v3 64 r 22 m if f% i3O IINVENTOR. lzcewstraubel ATTONEY Aug. 11,1953 c. w. STRAUBEL 2,648,535

DRAWER CONSTRUCTIQN Filed Feb. 2, 1950 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Ru h INVENTORClarence W Shun/(Jab,

ATTORNEY Patented Aug. 11, 1953 DRAWER; ooNs'r aoorroN Clarence straubelYoungstownyOhio, assignor to The General Fireproofing- Company;Youngstown, Ohio, a corporation of Oliib A plication-February 2, 1950;'Sbr'ifil' NO. 141 965 5 claims (01. 31 2 s* i3 This invention relatesto improvements infilin'g cabinet drawers of the type in-which thefronts of the drawers are hinged at their bottoms to the drawers foroutward swinging movement to afford ready access to the contents of thedrawers when the drawersare opened.-

One special object of the invention is to provi'de simple, practicallatch means which-is op-' erated by inward swinging movement of a drawerfront to latch the drawer in a closed position, and which is released byoutward swinging movement of the drawer fronttopermit opening of thedrawer.

Another object of the invention is to provide simple, practical meanswhich is'rendered-eifective by closing of a filing cabinet drawer tohold the drawer against undesirable lateral movement relative to acabinet in which it iscontained.

In accordance with the invention the drawer front is provided with sidewings the top marginal portions of which travel in downwardly openingchannels at the tops of the side walls of the drawer during opening andclosing movements of the drawer front, and inthisconnection anotherobject of the invention is to provide attractive shield elements tocover the tops of saidwings, close the front ends of said-channels' andalso to cushion closing movements of the drawer front. 7

Another object of the invention is to provide a drawer front of sucha-simple practicaldesign that it may readily be assembled anddisassembled;

With the'foregoing and-other objects in view; which will become morefully apparent as the nature of the invention is better understood, thesame consists in the novel features of construction, combination andarrangement of; parts" as are illustrated by way of example in theaccompanying drawings and as will be hereinafter more fully describedand claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, wherein like characters of referencedenote corresponding parts in the different views:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the front end portion of a filingcabinet drawer constructed-in accordance with the invention; I

Figure 2 is a vertical, longitudinal section through the front endportion of the drawer showing the swingable front of thedrawer in closedposition; v H

Figure 2 is'a detail perspective view further illustrating the manner ofconnectingothe-drawer head with one of thewings;

2 v. Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 2 showing thezdrawer frontswung outwardly;

Figure 4 is ahorizontal section taken approximately on the line 4+4 ofFigure 2; 0

Figure 4 is a cross sectional view similar to Figure 4 but showing thedrawer latches duplimixed at opposite sides of the drawer andutilizing-booster springs; V

Figure 4 is a detail perspective view of one of the drawer latches shownin Figure 4 Figure 5 is a'transverse section taken approximately ontheline 55 of Figure 2;

Figure 6 is a perspective view of one of the wing shields; and w Figure6 is adetail view partly in elevation and partly in section showing amodified form of wing shield.

Referring to the drawings in detail, I0 designates a; portion of afiling cabinet and ll designates aportion of a drawer which may beslidably mounted insaid cabinet in any suitable man'- ner.

The drawer ll includes sides l2, a bottom [3 and a front,designatedgenerally as [4, which is pivoted at or near its bottom to a:bottom portion-of the drawer, as indicated at [5, for swinging movementbetween a vertically disposed closed position, as shownin Figures 1' and2 of the drawings, and an upwardly and outwardly inclined open position,as shown in Figure 3 of the drawings. g

Also pivoted at or near its bottom to a bottom portion of the drawer II,as indicated at l6, for swinging movement between a positionsubstantially parallel to the drawer front M, as shown in Figure 3-, anda position upwardly and rearwardly incl inedrelative to said drawerfront, as-shown-in Figure 2 of" the drawings, is a front follower-plateI [which, by suitable spring means, such as helical-torsion springs 18associatedwith its pivot lfi constantly is urged rearwardlyto exert'holding-pressure against the contents of the drawer. 7

On thefront'follower plate I! is a latch element I 9, which, by; forwardswinging movement ofsaid'follower plate relativeto the drawer front [4,is engageable with a keeper 20 on said drawer front to-hold-saidfollower plate in a forwardly swung position adjacent to saiddrawerfront and substantially parallel thereto when said drawer frontis; initsforwardly swung or open position. fIhepivot I6 ofthe frontfollower plate ll is located' above and slightly inward relative to thepivot l5 of-the drawer front I4. Coffee quently, when the drawer front I4, with thefront 3 follower plate latched thereto, is swung inwardly toits closed position, the different arcs of swinging movement of thelatch element l9 and the keeper result in lifting and release of theformer relative to the latter. The springs |8 then act to swing thefront follower plate IT inwardly relative to the drawer front M as shownin Figure 2 of the drawings so that said front follower plate exertsrearwardly directed pressure against material contained in the drawer I.

Rigid with the drawer front M at each side thereof and extendingrearwardly therefrom is a win-g 2|, while rigid with each side I2 of thedrawer near the front end thereof and extending inwardly therefrom is astud or pin 22. Reinforcing angles 2|a are preferably employed on thecorners between the wing and the inner plate of the drawer head toprevent tendency of the wings to bend at their junction with the plate.

Disposed at the outer side of and pivoted at its front end to each wing2| near the front end of the latter, for vertical swinging movement, isa drawer front latch element 23 which has extending inwardly therefrom,through an opening 24 in its related wing 2|, an arm 25 to which isfixed the upper end of a leaf spring 26 the lower or free end portion ofwhich is engaged with the front face of the front follower plate I1. Theinner plate of the drawer head |4 preferably has a slot 26a into whichthe tail end of the spring may move when the plate I! is moved by thedrawer contents to a substantially upright or vertical position.

By engagement of their lower or free ends with the front follower plateII, the leaf springs 26 are maintained under forward flexure and therebytend constantly to swing the latch elements 23 downwardly. In thisconnection and as shown in the drawings, the latch elements 23 arearranged to ride over the studs or pins 22 when the drawer front isbeing closed and at their bottoms have recesses 21 to receive said pinswhen said drawer front is fully closed. Further in this connection andas shown in the drawings, the recesses 21 are inclined downwardly andrearwardly at their rear ends so that as the latch elements 23 are urgeddownwardly by the leaf springs 26 when the drawer front I4 is closed,camming or wedging actions occur between the pins 22 and the edgesdefining the rear ends of the recesses 2'! whereby the drawer front ismaintained tightly closed.

The drawer frontlatch elements 23 may be of lengths such that theirinner end portions remain upon the studs 22 when the drawer front I4 isfully open, or they may be of lengths, as shown, such that when thedrawer front is fully open their inner end portions are disposedforwardly of said studs 22 and rest upon suitable supports 28 projectinginwardly from the drawer sides I2. In any event, the leaf springs 26obviously serve not only to urge the latch elements 23 downwardlywhereby the drawer front is maintained tightly closed, but assist thesprings IS in urging the front follower plate rearwardly when the drawerfront is closed.

Carried by and projecting inwardly from each of the side walls |2 of thedrawer II is a pin 29, while carried by and projecting outwardly fromeach of the wings 2| is a pin 30. The pins 29 are disposed above thepins 30 and between each pair 29 and 30 of said pins is interposed acoil spring 3|, the ends of which are engaged with said pins,respectively. The

said pins are arranged so that when the drawer front I4 is fully openthe pins 30 are disposed forwardly of straight lines extending betweenthe pins 29 and the drawer front pivot l5 and so that when the drawerfront is fully closed said pins 30 are disposed rearwardly of suchstraight lines. Consequently, the said springs 3| act, when the drawerfront is fully open, to hold the latter open and, when said drawer frontis closed, to assist the leaf springs 26 and the latch elements 23 inmaintaining the same closed. Moreover, said springs 3| obviously actadvantageously to impart both opening and closing movements to thedrawer front as soon as the latter is swung either inwardly or outwardlybeyond a neutral position in which the pins 30 are disposed in straightlines extending between the pins 29 and the drawer front pivot I5.

Suitably mounted at its rear end upon each of the wings 2| at the outerside of the latter is a helical bumper spring 32, while carried by eachside |2 of the drawer II in the path of forward movement of eachof saidbumper springs is a suitable stop element 33. Thus, when the drawerfront I4 is opened, the bumper springs 32 engage the stop elements 33and both limit and cushion opening movement of the drawer front.' Inthis connection and if desired, the springs 32 may be carried by thedrawer sides and the stop elements 33 may be carried by the wings 2|. Asshown, the bumper springs 32 are mounted on tongues 32 struck outwardlyfrom the wings 2|.

Suitably fastened to one side l2 of the drawer H is a drawer latchelement 34 for cooperation with a keeper 35 carried by the adjacent sideof the cabinet H! to latch the drawer in its closed position. The latchelement 34 is of leaf spring form, extends longitudinally relative tothe drawer side |2, has at least its front portion located at the innerside of the drawer side and is riveted or otherwise suitably fastenedonly at its rear end to the drawer side so that its front portion isfree to flex inwardly and outwardly. Extending outwardly from the saidfront portion of said latch element, through an opening 36 in the drawerside I2, is a projection 31 for engagement behind the keeper 35 to latchthe drawer closed. The front portion of said latch element tendsconstantly to assume a position spaced inwardly from the drawer side |2an amount such that the projection 31 is disposed entirely inwardly withrespect to the keeper 35. Consequently, unless the front portion of saidlatch element is flexed outwardly, the projection 31 will not engagebehind the keeper 35.

Projecting outwardly from the wing 2| which is located at the same sideof the drawer as the latch element 34, is a cam member 38, which, whenthe drawer front I4 is open, is disposed forwardly of said latch element34 so as not to interfere with the latter assuming its normal positionin which the projection 31 thereof is disposed inwardly with respect tothe keeper 35. Consequently, when the drawer front is open, the latchelement 34 is not engageable with the keeper 35 and therefore the draweris free to be closed and opened. 'When, however, the drawer front isclosed, the cam member 38 is engaged with the front end of the latchelement 34 and holds the front portion 34a, of said latch element flexedoutwardly, thereby conditioning said latch element so that when thedrawer is closed the projection 310i said latch element snaps behind thekeeper 35 and latches the drawer closed. In

this connection and as will, or course, be understood, the drawer front|4 may be swung closed after the drawer is closed with the same resultof latching the drawer closed as would occur by first closing the drawerfront and then closing the drawer. Obviously, when the drawer and thedrawer front are closed, opening movement of the drawer front releasesthe latch element 34 so that the latter may spring inwardly from behindthe keeper 35 to release the drawer for opening movement.

To insure proper coaction between the drawer latch element 34 and thekeeper 35, the side of the drawer opposite to the side thereof whichcarries said latch element ma have, adjacent to the front end thereof, asuitable outwardly directed projection 39 to engage an adjacent sideportion of the cabinet l0 when the drawer is closed to urge the draweras an entirety to its limit of movement toward the other side of thecabinet. Thus, too, any undesirable lateral movement of the drawerrelative to the cabinet is avoided when the drawer is closed. As shown,the projection 39 may conveniently be struck outwardly from a saddleplate 39' which may be welded or otherwise suitably liked to the side ofthe drawer and by means of which the drawer is supported upon itssuspension means.

Figure 4 illustrates a modified arrangement wherein the effect of theprojection 39 and one drawer latch 34 may be attained by using a pair oflatches 34b and thus eliminate the projection 39. That is to say,instead of using projection 39 to insure lateral shifting of the drawerto take up side play and insure the coaction between the latch elementand its keeper, as described above, two latches 34b and two keepers 35amay be used. Thus, under all normal side movement of the drawer in thecase, the same will be latched therein when closed.

In connection with the spring drawer latches 34a or 34b, it ispreferable to use a booster spring 340 to assist in disengaging theprojection 31a from the keeper 35a upon the opening of the drawer. Aswill be seenfrom the drawer latch 34 in Fig. 4, the rear end is securedto the drawer side while the free front end 3411 tends to springinwardly when the cam 38 moves away to release 31 from 35. When thedrawer latch of Fig. 4 remains flexed outwardly under the influence ofcam 38 over long periods of time, it is possible that the latch shank,including projection 3?, will lose its original spring effect so thatwhen the drawer head is opened and the cam 33 moves away the projection37 will not immediately clear the keeper 35, and prevent free opening ofthe drawer.

The above possibility is eliminated by the use of the booster spring 340disposed between the inner face of the free end latch 34a and the innerface of the side wall of the drawer. Thus, when cam 38 moves away fromthe free end of the latch the booster spring 340 retracts the projection31a. into opening 35 and insures 31a clearing its related keeper.

The drawer head or drawer front I4 is composed of an inner plate 40 andan outer finishing plate 4|. The inner plate 40 carries the wings 2| andthe keeper 20 and is the part of the drawer front which is directlyhinged to the drawer. At its top and sides said inner plate hasforwardly directed flanges 42 which serve to .6 stiffen said inner plateand to act as spacers for the outer finishing plate 4|, while at thebottom of said inner plate is a downwardly directed flange 43.

At its sides, top and bottom the outer plate 4| is marginally turnedrearwardly, as indicated at 44, then inwardly, as indicated at 45, tostiffen said plate and to provide top and bottom inwardly openingchannels 46 to accommodate the top marginal portion and the bottomflange 43', respectively, of the inner plate 40. Said outer plate isassembled with said inner plate by engaging the top marginal portion ofthe inner plate in the top channel 46 of the outer plate, by then movingsaid outer plate first downwardly and then upwardly relative to saidinner plate to engage the flange 43 of the inner plate in the bottomchannel of said outer plate, and by then securing the two platestogether by the usual drawer pull designated as 47. To remove said outerplate from said inner plate, the procedure mentioned simply is reversed.Between the two plates 40 and 4| may be interposed a pad 48 or asbestosor equivalent fire resistant material to protect the contents of thedrawer ID in the event of fire.

If desired, the outer plate 4| may have tabs 49 at its sides to befastened by screws 50 to the wings 2| to assist in fastening said outerplate securely to the inner plate 4|].

The top portions of the drawer sides 12 are turned first inwardly, asindicated at 5|, and then downwardly, as indicated at 52, to avoid sharpedges and to provide stiffening and reinforcing formations at the topsof said drawer sides, and as a result of this construction downwardlyopening channels 53 are provided at the tops of said drawer sides.

I The tops of the wings 2| are curved concentrically relative to thpivotal axis |5 of the drawer front l4 and are disposed to travel in thechannels 53 during opening and closing movements of the drawer front M.In this connection, in order to provide attractive finishes for the topsof the wings 2| and to close the front ends of the channels 53., as wellas to cushion final closing movement of the drawer front I4, shieldpieces 54 are employed to cover the tops of the wings '2|.

The shield pieces 54 are of inverted U-shape in cross section to fitover the tops of the wings 2| and are curved to conform to the curvatureof the tops of said wings. Moreover, the outer end portions of saidshield pieces are of increasing width, toward their outer ends asindicated at 54a to wedgingly ngage in the front end portions of thechannels 53 of the drawer sides during the final portion of closingmovement of the drawer front l4 so as to cushion closing of the doorfront.

While the shield pieces 54 may be mounted operatively relative to thewings 2| in any suitable manner, one practical manner of mounting themmay reside in providing the same at their front ends with t'ailportionswhich are downward extensions'5'5 of their top walls, and in providingsaid downward extensions with slots 56 to accommodate tongues 5'!provided at the front ends of the wings 2| near the tops of the latter.The downward extensions 55a are preferably fiat and engage anon-metallic disk of felt or the like 55b on the inner plate 40' of thedrawer front [4 and may be resilient so as to react from said disk andplate 4| to tend constantly to tilt the shield piece 54 upwardly aboutthe tongues 51, thus to maintain the tops of said shield piecesconstantly engaged with the top walls of the drawer channels 53 so as toavoid unsightly gaps and finger hazard between the tops of said wingsand the said top walls of the channels 53 at the front ends of thelatter.

A modification of the inner end of the wings is shown in Fig. 6 whereinthe body 540 of the wing is provided with a tail piece 54d which is oflongitudinally arched-formation so that its intermediate portion coversthe non-metallic shock absorbing button 54e while its extremity entersslot 54f of the inner plate of the drawer head.

From the foregoing description considered in connection with theaccompanying drawings, it is believed that the novel features comprisingthe invention will be clearly understood and their advantagesappreciated. It is desired to point out, however, that While only singlestructure embodiments of said features have been illustrated anddescribed, the same are readily capable of specifically differentstructural embodiments within the spirit and scope of the invention asdefined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A filing cabinet provided at a side thereof with a keeper for adrawer latch, a drawer slidable in said cabinet and provided at a sidethereof with a latch for engagement with said keeper to hold the drawerclosed, a drawer front swingable between closed and open positionsrelative to the drawer, spring means effective when the drawer front isopen to move said latch to a position in which the latter is ineffectiveto restrain opening or closing movements of the drawer, and meanscarried by the drawer front and operable by closing of the drawer frontto move said latch to a position in which it engages behind said keeperwhen the drawer is closed and thus holds the drawer closed.

2. A filing'cabinet provided at a side thereof with a keeper for adrawer latch, a drawer slidable in said-cabinet and provided at a sidethereof with a latch for engagement with said keeper to hold the drawerclosed, a drawer front swingable between" closed and open positionsrelative to the drawer, said latch being of leaf spring form and havinga normal bias such that it assumesa position in which it is ineffectiveto restrain opening or closing movements of the drawer when the drawerfront is open, and means carried by the drawer front and engageable withsaid latch when th drawer front is closed to flex said latch to aposition in which it engages behind said keeper when the drawer isclosed and thus holds the drawer closed.

' 3. In a filing cabinet, the combination, including a keeper on theinner side of one Wall of the cabinet for a drawer latch, a drawerslidable in saidcabinet, a latch on one side of the drawer forengagement with said keeper to hold the drawer closed, a drawer frontincluding a side wing swingable between closed and opened positionsrelative to the drawer, spring means effective when the drawer front isopen to move said latch to a position in which the latter is ineffectiveto restrain opening or closing movements of the drawer, a cam memberprojecting from said wing and adapted to engage said latch when thedrawer front is closed to maintain said latch in engagement with saidkeeper.

4. A filing cabinet provided at one side thereof with a keeper for adrawer latch, a drawer slidable in said cabinet, a latch at one side ofthe drawer for engagement with said keeper to hold the drawer closed, adrawer front swingable between closed and open positions relative to thedrawer, said latch being of leaf spring form and having a normal biassuch that it assumes a position in which it is ineffective to restrainopening or closing movements of the drawer when the drawer front isopen, a booster spring leaf secured to the forward end of said leafspring and having its free end adjacent the latch to augment the normalbias of said spring leaf, and means carried by the drawer front andengageable with said latch when the drawer front is closed to flex saidlatch to a position in which it engages behind said keeper when thedrawer is closed and thus holds the drawer closed.

5. In combination, a filing cabinet provided on one side thereof with akeeper for a drawer latch, a drawer slidable in said cabinet, a latch onone side of the drawer for engaging said keeper to hold the drawerclosed, a drawer front swingable between closed and open positionsrelative to the drawer, said latch being of leaf spring form and havinga normal bias such that it assumes a position in which it is ineffectiveto restrain opening or closing movements of the drawer when the drawerfront is open, a plate secured to the side of the drawer opposite thelatch, a projection on the plate for engagement with a related sideportion of the cabinet when the drawer is closed to urge the side of thedrawer having a latch toward its related side portion of the cabinet,and means carried by the drawer front and operable by closing of thedrawer front to move said latch to a position in which it engages behindsaid keeper when the drawer is closed and thus holds the drawer closed.

CLARENCE W. STRAUBEL.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 701,449 Yawman June 3, 1902 821,576 Athey May 22, 19061,489,405 Wheary Apr. 8, 1924 1,750,448 Wege Mar. 11, 1930 1,939,487Brainard Dec. 12, 1933 1,959,066 Schmitz May 15, 1934 2,090,648 StraubelAug. 24, 1937 2,232,531 Houston Feb. 18, 1941 2,276,197 Houston Mar. 10,1942

